Multilayer electronic component

ABSTRACT

A multilayer electronic component includes a body including a plurality of dielectric layers, side margin portions disposed on the body, and external electrodes disposed on the body. The reliability of the multilayer electronic component is improved by controlling the contents of Si for each position of the dielectric layer and the side margin portion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2021-0006926 filed on Jan. 18, 2021 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a multilayer electronic component.

BACKGROUND

A multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC), one of multilayer electroniccomponents, is a chip-type condenser mounted on a printed circuit boardof several electronic products such as an image device, for example, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP) or the like,a computer, a smartphone, a mobile phone, and the like, to serve tocharge or discharge electricity therein or therefrom.

The multilayer ceramic capacitor may be used as components of variouselectronic apparatuses since it has a small size, implements highcapacitance, and may be easily mounted. In accordance withminiaturization and an increase in output of various electronicapparatuses such as computers and mobile devices, a demand forminiaturization and a capacitance increase of the multilayer ceramiccapacitors has increased.

In addition, recently, in accordance with an increase in an interest inelectronic components for a vehicle in the industry, the multilayerceramic capacitors have also been required to have high reliability andhigh strength characteristics in order to be used in the vehicle or aninfotainment system.

In order to miniaturize the multilayer ceramic capacitor and increase acapacitance of the multilayer ceramic capacitor, it has been required tosignificantly increase an electrode effective area (increase aneffective volume fraction required for implementing a capacitance).

In order to implement the miniaturized and high-capacitance multilayerceramic capacitor as described above, in manufacturing the multilayerceramic capacitor, a method of significantly increasing areas ofinternal electrodes in a width direction of a body through a design thatdoes not have margins by exposing the internal electrodes in the widthdirection of the body and separately attaching side margin portions toelectrode exposed surfaces of the multilayer ceramic capacitor in thewidth direction in an operation after the multilayer ceramic capacitoris manufactured and before the multilayer ceramic capacitor is sinteredto complete the multilayer ceramic capacitor has been used.

Capacitance of the multilayer ceramic capacitor per unit volume of themultilayer capacitor may be improved by a method of separately attachingthe side margin portions, but there is a problem that moistureresistance reliability of the multilayer ceramic capacitor may bedecreased due to a decrease in a thickness of the side margin portions.In addition, when the method of separately attaching the side marginportions is used, in general, an average size of dielectric grains ofthe side margin portion may become greater than a size of dielectricgrains of an active portion, and a problem in which reliability of themultilayer ceramic capacitor is decreased due to a difference in thesize between the dielectric grains of the active portion and the sidemargin portion may occur.

Therefore, a method of improving reliability of the multilayer ceramiccapacitor by suppressing grain growth of the side margin portion todecrease the difference in the size between the dielectric grains of theside margin portion and a dielectric layer of the active portion hasbeen required.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the present disclosure may provide a multilayer electroniccomponent of which reliability is improved.

Another aspect of the present disclosure may provide a multilayerelectronic component in which a difference in size between dielectricgrains of an active portion and a side margin portion is decreased.

An aspect of the present disclosure may provide a multilayer electroniccomponent having high reliability, a small size, and high capacitance.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a multilayerelectronic component may include: a body including a plurality ofdielectric layers and having first and second surfaces opposing eachother in a first direction, third and fourth surfaces connected to thefirst and second surfaces and opposing each other in a second direction,and fifth and sixth surfaces connected to the first to fourth surfacesand opposing each other in a third direction; side margin portionsdisposed on the fifth and sixth surfaces, respectively; and externalelectrodes disposed on the third and fourth surfaces, respectively,wherein the body includes an active portion including internalelectrodes disposed alternately with the dielectric layers in the firstdirection and cover portions disposed on opposite end surfaces of theactive portion in the first direction, respectively, and the dielectriclayer and the side margin portion include Si, and an average content ofSi in m is higher than an average content of Si in a and an averagecontent of Si in m2 in which a is a region from a boundary between theactive portion and the side margin portion to a region spaced apart fromthe boundary toward the active portion by 3 μm, m is a region from theboundary between the active portion and the side margin portion to aregion spaced apart from the boundary outwardly of the side marginportion by 3 μm, and m2 is a region from m to a region spaced apart fromm outwardly of the side margin portion by 3 μm.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a multilayerelectronic component may include: a body including a plurality ofdielectric layers and having first and second surfaces opposing eachother in a first direction, third and fourth surfaces connected to thefirst and second surfaces and opposing each other in a second direction,and fifth and sixth surfaces connected to the first to fourth surfacesand opposing each other in a third direction; side margin portionsdisposed on the fifth and sixth surfaces, respectively; and externalelectrodes disposed on the third and fourth surfaces, respectively,wherein the body includes an active portion including internalelectrodes disposed alternately with the dielectric layers in the firstdirection and cover portions disposed on opposite end surfaces of theactive portion in the first direction, respectively, and Dm/Da isgreater than 0.5 and less than 1.5 in which a is a region from aboundary between the active portion and the side margin portion to aregion spaced apart from the boundary toward the active portion by 3 μm,Da is an average size of dielectric grains in a, m is a region from theboundary between the active portion and the side margin portion to aregion spaced apart from the boundary outwardly of the side marginportion by 3 μm, and Dm is an average size of dielectric grains in m.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a multilayerelectronic component according to an exemplary embodiment in the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a body in a state in whichexternal electrodes are excluded from the multilayer electroniccomponent of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the body in a state in whichthe external electrodes and side margin portions are excluded from themultilayer electronic component of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II′ of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of region K1 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a result of line-profiling the vicinity ofan interface between an active portion and a margin portion for Test No.15 using a transmission electron microscope-energy disperse X-rayspectrometer (TEM-EDS); and

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a result of line-profiling the vicinity ofan interface between an active portion and a margin portion for Test No.5 using a TEM-EDS.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Theshape and size of constituent elements in the drawings may beexaggerated or reduced for clarity. In the drawings, for example, due tomanufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, modifications of the shapeshown may be estimated. Thus, embodiments of the present disclosureshould not be construed as being limited to the particular shapes ofregions shown herein, for example, to include a change in shape resultsin manufacturing. The following embodiments may also be constituted byone or a combination thereof.

The present disclosure may, however, be exemplified in many differentforms and should not be construed as being limited to the specificembodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

It will be apparent that though the terms first, second, third, etc. maybe used herein to describe various members, components, regions, layersand/or sections, these members, components, regions, layers and/orsections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only usedto distinguish one member, component, region, layer or section fromanother region, layer or section. Thus, a first member, component,region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a secondmember, component, region, layer or section without departing from theteachings of the exemplary embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “above,” “upper,” “below,” and “lower”and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe oneelement's relationship to another element(s) as shown in the figures. Itwill be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended toencompass different orientations of the device in use or operation inaddition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if thedevice in the figures is turned over, elements described as “above,” or“upper” other elements would then be oriented “below,” or “lower” theother elements or features. Thus, the term “above” can encompass boththe above and below orientations depending on a particular direction ofthe figures. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees orat other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors usedherein may be interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein describes particular embodiments only, andthe present disclosure is not limited thereby. As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It willbe further understood that the terms “comprises,” and/or “comprising”when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, members, elements, and/or groupsthereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, members, elements, and/orgroups thereof.

The contents of the present disclosure described below may have avariety of configurations and propose only a required configurationherein, but are not limited thereto.

In the drawings, a first direction may be defined as a stacked directionor a thickness T direction, a second direction may be defined as alength L direction, and a third direction may be defined as a width Wdirection.

Multilayer Electronic Component

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a multilayerelectronic component according to an exemplary embodiment in the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a body in a state in whichexternal electrodes are excluded from the multilayer electroniccomponent of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the body in a state in whichthe external electrodes and side margin portions are excluded from themultilayer electronic component of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II′ of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of region K1 of FIG. 5.

Hereinafter, a multilayer electronic component according to an exemplaryembodiment in the present disclosure will be described in detail withreference to FIGS. 1 through 6.

A multilayer electronic component 100 according to an exemplaryembodiment in the present disclosure may include: a body 110 including aplurality of dielectric layers 111 and having first and second surfaces1 and 2 opposing each other in the first direction, third and fourthsurfaces 3 and 4 connected to the first and second surfaces and opposingeach other in the second direction, and fifth and sixth surfaces 5 and 6connected to the first to fourth surfaces and opposing each other in thethird direction; side margin portions 114 and 115 disposed on the fifthand sixth surfaces, respectively; and external electrodes 131 and 132disposed on third and fourth surfaces, respectively, wherein the bodyincludes an active portion Ac including internal electrodes 121 and 122disposed alternately with the dielectric layers and cover portions 112and 113 disposed on upper and lower surfaces of the active portion inthe first direction, respectively, and the dielectric layer and the sidemargin portion include Si, and an average content of Si in m is higherthan an average content of Si in a and an average content of Si in m2 inwhich a is a region from a boundary between the active portion and theside margin portion to a region spaced apart from the boundary towardthe active portion by 3 μm, m is a region from the boundary between theactive portion and the side margin portion to a region spaced apart fromthe boundary outwardly of the side margin portion by 3 μm, and m2 is aregion from m to a region spaced apart from m outwardly of the sidemargin portion by 3 μm.

The body 110 may include the dielectric layers 111 and the internalelectrodes 121 and 122 alternately stacked therein.

A shape of the body 110 is not particularly limited, and may be ahexahedral shape or a shape similar to the hexahedral shape, asillustrated in the drawings. Although the body 110 does not have ahexahedral shape having perfectly straight lines due to shrinkage ofceramic powders included in the body 110 in a sintering process, thebody 110 may have a substantially hexahedral shape.

The body 110 may have the first and second surfaces 1 and 2 opposingeach other in the first direction, the third and fourth surfaces 3 and 4connected to the first and second surfaces 1 and 2 and opposing eachother in the second direction, and the fifth and sixth surfaces 5 and 6connected to the first and second surfaces 1 and 2, connected to thethird and fourth surfaces 3 and 4, and opposing each other in the thirddirection.

A plurality of dielectric layers 111 forming the body 110 may be in asintered state, and adjacent dielectric layers 111 may be integratedwith each other so that boundaries therebetween are not readily apparentwithout using a scanning electron microscope (SEM).

According to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, a rawmaterial of the dielectric layer 111 is not particularly limited as longas sufficient capacitance may be obtained. For example, a bariumtitanate-based material, a lead composite perovskite-based material, astrontium titanate-based material, or the like, may be used as the rawmaterial of the dielectric layer 111. The barium titanate-based materialmay include BaTiO₃-based ceramic powders. Examples of the BaTiO₃-basedceramic powders may include BaTiO₃ and (Ba_(1-x)Ca_(x))TiO₃, Ba(Ti_(1-y)Ca_(y))O₃, (Ba_(1-x)Ca_(x)) (Ti_(1-y)Zr_(y))O₃,Ba(Ti_(1-y)Zr_(y))O₃, or the like, in which calcium (Ca), zirconium(Zr), or the like, is partially solid-dissolved in BaTiO₃.

A material of the dielectric layer 111 may include various ceramicadditives, organic solvents, binders, dispersants, and the like, addedto powders such as barium titanate (BaTiO₃) powders, or the like,according to an object of the present disclosure.

Meanwhile, a thickness td of the dielectric layer 111 does not need tobe particularly limited. However, the thickness td of the dielectriclayer 111 may be 0.6 μm or less in order to more easily achieveminiaturization and an increase in capacitance of the multilayerelectronic component. Here, the thickness td of the dielectric layer 111may refer to an average thickness of the dielectric layer 111.

The body 110 may include the active portion Ac disposed in the body 110and forming capacitance by including first internal electrodes 121 andsecond internal electrodes 122 disposed to face each other withrespective dielectric layers 111 interposed therebetween and the coverportions 112 and 113 formed on upper and lower surfaces of the activeportion Ac in the first direction, respectively.

In addition, the active portion Ac, which contributes to formingcapacitance of a multilayer ceramic capacitor, may be formed byrepeatedly stacking a plurality of first and second internal electrodes121 and 122 with respective dielectric layers 111 interposedtherebetween.

The upper cover portion 112 and the lower cover portion 113 may beformed by stacking a single dielectric layer or two or more dielectriclayers on the upper and lower surfaces of the active portion Ac in thethickness direction, respectively, and may basically serve to preventdamage to the internal electrodes due to physical or chemical stress.

The upper cover portion 112 and the lower cover portion 113 may notinclude the internal electrodes, and may include the same material asthe dielectric layer 111.

That is, the upper cover portion 112 and the lower cover portion 113 mayinclude a ceramic material such as a barium titanate (BaTiO₃)-basedceramic material.

Meanwhile, a thickness of respective cover portions 112 and 113 does notneed to be particularly limited. However, the thickness tp of respectivecover portions 112 and 113 may be 20 μm or less in order to more easilyachieve miniaturization and a capacitance increase of the multilayerelectronic component.

In addition, the side margin portions 114 and 115 may be disposed onside surfaces of the active portion Ac.

The side margin portions 114 and 115 may include a first side marginportion 114 disposed on the fifth surface 5 of the body 110 and a secondside margin portion 115 disposed on the sixth surface 6. That is, theside margin portions 114 and 115 may be disposed on opposite endsurfaces of the body 110 in the third direction, respectively.

The side margin portions 114 and 115 may serve to prevent damage to theinternal electrodes due to physical or chemical stress.

The side margin portions 114 and 115 may be formed by stacking ceramicgreen sheets to form a laminate, cutting the laminate so that theinternal electrodes are exposed to the fifth and sixth surfaces 5 and 6of the body, and then stacking a single dielectric layer or two or moredielectric layers on opposite end surfaces of the active portion Ac inthe width direction, in order to suppress an operation due to theinternal electrodes 121 and 122.

Referring to FIG. 6, the dielectric layer 111 and the side marginportions 114 and 115 may include Si, and an average content of Si in mmay be higher than an average content of Si in a and an average contentof Si in m2 in which a is a region from a boundary between the activeportion Ac and respective side margin portions 114 and 115 to a regionspaced apart from the boundary toward the active portion Ac by about 3μm, m is a region from the boundary between the active portion Ac andrespective side margin portions 114 and 115 to a region spaced apartfrom the boundary outwardly of respective side margin portions 114 and115 by about 3 μm, and m2 is a region from m to a region spaced apartfrom m outwardly of respective side margin portions 114 and 115 by about3 μm. Meanwhile, FIG. 6 illustrates the second side margin portion 115,but the above description is not limited to the second side marginportion 115 and may be similarly applied to the first side marginportion 114.

It will be appreciated that the term “about” in reference to a quantityis indicative of variation in the quantity such as those caused bymanufacturing differences and measurement tolerances.

In order to implement a miniature and high-capacitance multilayerceramic capacitor, in manufacturing the multilayer ceramic capacitor, amethod of significantly increasing areas of internal electrodes in awidth direction of a body through a design that does not have margins byexposing the internal electrodes in the width direction of the body andseparately attaching side margin portions to electrode exposed surfacesof the multilayer ceramic capacitor in the width direction in anoperation after the multilayer ceramic capacitor is manufactured andbefore the multilayer ceramic capacitor is sintered to complete themultilayer ceramic capacitor has been used. When the method ofseparately attaching the side margin portions is used, in general, anaverage size of dielectric grains of the side margin portion becomegreater than a size of dielectric grains of an active portion, and aproblem that reliability of the multilayer ceramic capacitor isdecreased due to a difference in the size between the dielectric grainsof the active portion and the side margin portion may occur.

When a ceramic green sheet for forming the side margin portion and aceramic green sheet for forming the dielectric layer have the samecomposition, in general, after the ceramic green sheets are subjected tostacking and sintering processes, an average content of Si in m2 may bethe highest, and dielectric grains in m may be excessively grown, suchthat a size of the dielectric grains may increase.

On the other hand, according to an exemplary embodiment in the presentdisclosure, by controlling the average content of Si in m to be higherthan the average content of Si in a and the average content in Si in m2,m may have a composition advantageous for low-temperature compactness,such that reliability of the multilayer electronic component may beimproved. Si may be an element contributing to low-temperaturecompactness through liquefaction during sintering. Therefore, bycontrolling the content of Si in m to be relatively higher than those ofSi in a and m2, m may have the composition advantageous for thelow-temperature compactness, such that an increase in a size of thedielectric grains in m may be suppressed. As a result, compactness in min which a breakdown due to a high voltage may mainly occur may beimproved and a difference between the size of the dielectric grains in mand a size of the dielectric grains of the active portion may bedecreased to improve reliability.

In an exemplary embodiment, Dm/Da may be greater than 0.5 and less than1.5 in which Da is an average size of dielectric grains in a and Dm isan average size of dielectric grains in m.

When Dm/Da is 0.5 or less or 1.5 or more, the difference in the sizebetween the dielectric crystal grains of the active portion Ac andrespective side margin portions 114 and 115 may be increased, such thatthe reliability of the multilayer electronic component may be decreased.Therefore, Dm/Da may preferably be greater than 0.5 and less than 1.5,and be more preferably 0.88 or more and 1.38 or less.

In this case, average sizes Da and Dm of the dielectric grains for eachposition may be sizes measured in a cross section of the body in thefirst and third direction. In addition, the average sizes Da and Dm ofthe dielectric grains for each position may be sizes measured in a crosssection of the body cut in the first and third direction at the centerof the body in the second direction.

In an exemplary embodiment, the dielectric layer and the side marginportion may further include aluminum (Al), and an average content of Alin m may be higher than an average content of Al in a and an averagecontent of Al in m2.

Al may also be an element contributing to low-temperature compactnessthrough liquefaction during sintering, similar to Si. Therefore, bycontrolling the content of Al in m to be relatively higher than those ofAl in a and m2, m may have a composition advantageous forlow-temperature compactness, such that an increase in a size of thedielectric grains in m may be suppressed. As a result, compactness in min which a breakdown due to a high voltage may mainly occur may beimproved and a difference between the size of the dielectric grains in mand a size of the dielectric grains of the active portion may bedecreased to improve reliability.

In an exemplary embodiment, peak values of the content of Si and thecontent of Al in m may be higher than those of the content of Si and thecontent of Al in m2.

When a ceramic green sheet for forming the side margin portion and aceramic green sheet for forming the dielectric layer have the samecomposition, the content of Si and the content of Al may generally havepeak values in m2.

On the other hand, according to an exemplary embodiment in the presentdisclosure, the content of Si and the content of Al may have peak valuesin m. However, the content of Si and the content of Al may also havepeak values in m2, but the peak values of the content of Si and thecontent of Al in m may be higher than those of the content of Si and thecontent of Al in m2. Therefore, the difference in the size between thedielectric grains of the active portion Ac and respective side marginportions 114 and 115 may be decreased to improve the reliability.

In an exemplary embodiment, a distance difference between a point atwhich the content of Si has the peak value in m and a point at which thecontent of Al has the peak value in m may be 0.3 μm or less. That is,the content of Al in m may show the same distribution behavior as thatof the content of Si. In this case, the content of Si and the content ofAl in m may have the peak values at the same point.

Meanwhile, specific numerical ranges of the content of Si and thecontent of Al in m may be determined in consideration of variousconditions such as a product specification and a manufacturingcondition, and thus, does not need to be particularly limited.

As a non-restrictive example, the average content of Si in m may be 2mol or more and 7 mol or less based on 100 mol of BaTiO₃, and theaverage content of Al in m may be 1.5 mol or more and 3 mol or lessbased on 100 mol of BaTiO₃.

In an exemplary embodiment, the dielectric layer 111 and the side marginportions 114 and 115 may further include one or more of Mg and Dy.

In an exemplary embodiment, the dielectric layers 111 may be formed bystacking first ceramic green sheets in the first direction, and the sidemargin portions 114 and 115 may be formed by stacking second ceramicgreen sheets on the opposite end surfaces of the active portion Ac inthe third direction.

In this case, 0.4<C1a/C2a<1 and 0.5<C1b/C2b<2 in which C1a and C1b arecontents of Si and Al based on 100 mol of BaTiO₃ of the first ceramicgreen sheet, respectively, and C2a and C2b are contents of Si and Albased on 100 mol of BaTiO₃ of the second ceramic green sheet,respectively. Therefore, after stacking and sintering, the averagecontent of Si in m higher than the average content of Si in a and theaverage content of Si m2 may secured, and the average content of Al in mhigher than the average content of Al in a and the average content of Alm2 may secured.

The internal electrodes 121 and 122 may be disposed alternately with thedielectric layer 111.

The internal electrodes 121 and 122 may include first and secondinternal electrodes 121 and 122. The first and second internalelectrodes 121 and 122 may be alternately disposed to face each otherwith respective dielectric layers 111 constituting the body 110interposed therebetween, and may be exposed to the third and fourthsurfaces 3 and 4 of the body 110, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 3, the first internal electrodes 121 may be spacedapart from the fourth surface 4 and be exposed through the third surface3, and the second internal electrodes 122 may be spaced apart from thethird surface 3 and be exposed through the fourth surface 4. Inaddition, the first internal electrodes 121 may be exposed through thethird, fifth and sixth surfaces 3, 5, and 6, and the second internalelectrodes 122 may be exposed through the fourth, fifth and sixthsurfaces 4, 5, and 6.

In this case, the first and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 maybe electrically separated from each other by respective dielectriclayers 111 disposed therebetween.

The internal electrodes 121 and 122 may include one or more of nickel(Ni), copper (Cu), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), gold (Au), platinum(Pt), tin (Sn), tungsten (W), titanium (Ti), and alloys thereof.

Meanwhile, a thickness te of respective internal electrodes 121 and 122does not need to be particularly limited. However, the thickness te ofrespective internal electrodes 121 and 122 may be 0.6 μm or less inorder to more easily achieve miniaturization and an increase incapacitance of the multilayer electronic component. Here, the thicknesste of respective internal electrodes 121 and 122 may refer to an averagethickness of respective first and second internal electrodes 121 and122.

The external electrodes 131 and 132 are disposed on the third surface 3and the fourth surface 4 of the body 110, respectively.

The external electrodes 131 and 132 may include first and secondexternal electrodes 131 and 132 disposed on the third and fourthsurfaces 3 and 4 of the body 110, respectively, and connected to thefirst and second internal electrodes 121 and 122, respectively.

Referring to FIG. 1, the external electrodes 131 and 132 may be disposedto cover opposite end surfaces of the side margin portions 114 and 115in the second direction, respectively.

A structure in which the multilayer electronic component 100 includestwo external electrodes 131 and 132 has been described in the presentexemplary embodiment, but the number, shapes or the like, of externalelectrodes 131 and 132 may be changed depending on shapes of theinternal electrodes 121 and 122 or other purposes.

In an exemplary embodiment, the external electrodes 131 and 132 mayinclude the first external electrode 131 disposed on the third surfaceof the body 110 and the second external electrode 132 disposed on thefourth surface of the body 100 and the internal electrodes 121 and 122may include the first internal electrodes 121 in contact with the firstexternal electrode 131 and the second internal electrodes 122 in contactwith the second external electrode 132, and both end portions of thefirst and second internal electrodes 121 and 122 in the third directionmay be in contact with the side margin portions 114 and 115.

Meanwhile, the external electrodes 131 and 132 may be formed of anymaterial having electrical conductivity, such as a metal, a specificmaterial of respective external electrodes 131 and 132 may be determinedin consideration of electrical characteristics, structural stability andthe like, and the external electrodes 131 and 132 may have a multilayerstructure.

For example, the external electrodes 131 and 132 may include,respectively, electrode layers 131 a and 132 a disposed on the body 110,and plating layers 131 b and 132 b each disposed on the electrode layers131 a and 132 a.

As a more specific example of the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a, theelectrode layers 131 a and 132 a may be fired electrodes including aconductive metal and glass or resin-based electrodes including aconductive metal or a resin.

Alternatively, the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may have a form inwhich fired electrodes and resin electrodes are sequentially formed onthe body. In addition, the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a may beformed in a manner of transferring a sheet including a conductive metalonto the body or be formed in a manner of transferring a sheet includinga conductive metal onto a fired electrode.

The conductive metal included in the electrode layers 131 a and 132 amay be a material having excellent electrical connectivity, but is notparticularly limited thereto. For example, the conductive metal may beone or more of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), and alloys thereof.

The plating layers 131 b and 132 b may serve to improve mountingcharacteristics of the multilayer electronic component. A type of theplating layers 131 b and 132 b is not particularly limited. That is,respective plating layers 131 b and 132 b may be a plating layerincluding one or more of Ni, Sn, Pd, and alloys thereof, and may beformed as a plurality of layers.

As a more specific example of the plating layers 131 b and 132 b, theplating layers 131 b and 132 b may be Ni plating layers or Sn platinglayers, may have a form in which Ni plating layers and Sn plating layersare sequentially formed on the electrode layers 131 a and 132 a,respectively, or may have a form in which Sn plating layers, Ni platinglayers, and Sn plating layers are sequentially formed. Alternatively,the plating layers 131 b and 132 b may include a plurality of Ni platinglayers and/or a plurality of Sn plating layers.

A size of the multilayer electronic component 100 need not beparticularly limited.

However, since the numbers of stacked dielectric layers and internalelectrodes need to be increased by decreasing thicknesses of thedielectric layers and the internal electrodes in order to achieve bothof the miniaturization and the capacitance increase of the multilayerelectronic component, a reliability improving effect according to thepresent disclosure in a multilayer electronic component 100 having asize of 1005 (length×width: 1.0 mm×0.5 mm) or less may become moreremarkable.

Inventive Example

Sample chips were manufactured by adjusting contents of Si and contentsof Al in a ceramic green sheet for an active portion and a ceramic greensheet for a side margin portion.

In Test Nos. 1 to 6, a ceramic green sheet for an active portion and aceramic green sheet for a side margin portion having the samecomposition were used. In Test No. 7 to 31, a content of Si and acontent of Al were controlled in the range in which a ratio of a contentof Si in a ceramic green sheet for an active portion to a content of Siin a ceramic green sheet for a side margin portion is greater than 0.4and less than 1.0 and a ratio of a content of Al in the ceramic greensheet for an active portion to a content of Al in the ceramic greensheet for a side margin portion is greater than 0.5 and less than 2.0.

An average size of dielectric grains was measured from an image obtainedby scanning the vicinity of a boundary between an active portion and amargin portion at the center of the body in the first direction in across section of the body cut in the first and third directions at thecenter of the body in the second direction, at 50 k magnification usinga scanning electron microscope (SEM) available from ZEISS International.Specifically, a size of each grain was calculated by measuring a Ferretdiameter of each dielectric grain from the obtained image using Zootos,a grain size measuring software program. Average values of dielectricgrains in a region from a boundary between the active portion Ac and theside margin portion 115 to a region spaced apart from the boundarytoward the active portion Ac by 3 μm were shown as Da, and averagevalues of dielectric grains in a region from the boundary between theactive portion Ac and the side margin portion 115 to a region spacedapart from the boundary outwardly of the side margin portion 115 by 3 μmwere shown as Dm.

As for reliability, an accelerated lifespan evaluation was performed,and after 40 sample chips per Test No. were prepared, a sample chip inwhich insulation resistance was decreased to 10{circumflex over ( )}5Ωor less as a result of applying a voltage that is 1.5 times thereference voltage Vr to these sample chips for 50 hours was determinedas a defect, a case in which a defect occurred in all sample chips wasexpressed as X, a case in which the number of sample chips in which thedefect occurred is 25 or more and less than 40 was expressed as Δ, acase in which the number of sample chips in which the defect occurred is10 or more and less than 25 was expressed as ◯, and a case in which thenumber of sample chips in which the defect occurred is less than 10 wasexpressed as ⊚.

TABLE 1 Test No. Da Dm Dm/Da Reliability  1* 245.30 394.78 1.61 X  2*146.60 241.14 1.64 X  3* 253.60 409.48 1.61 X  4* 158.61 274.76 1.73 X 5* 155.31 233.08 1.50 X  6* 152.39 231.05 1.52 X  7 242.83 335.39 1.38◯  8 250.74 306.46 1.22 ◯  9 277.59 348.16 1.25 ◯ 10 292.81 293.91 1.00◯ 11 284.09 258.60 0.91 ◯ 12 270.61 257.51 0.95 ◯ 13 299.16 269.85 0.90⊚ 14 348.27 320.63 0.92 ⊚ 15 327.67 288.88 0.88 ⊚ 16 249.86 274.76 1.10◯ 17 269.98 304.26 1.13 ◯ 18 245.85 266.19 1.08 ◯ 19 241.15 235.56 0.98◯ 20 250.15 261.28 1.04 ◯ 21 260.64 264.11 1.01 ◯ 22 268.54 339.83 1.27◯ 23 313.37 364.75 1.16 ◯ 24 235.07 231.74 0.99 ◯ 25 299.60 364.48 1.22◯ 26 279.22 303.85 1.09 ◯ 27 291.00 335.00 1.15 ◯ 28 280.78 323.72 1.15◯ 29 251.54 279.72 1.11 ◯ 30 288.54 302.02 1.05 ◯

It can be seen that in Test Nos. 1 to 6, Dm/Da is 1.5 or more and allsample chips were determined as a defect, such that reliability waspoor.

On the other hand, in Test Nos. 7 to 31, Dm/Da was greater than 0.5 andless than 1.5, such that reliability was excellent.

Meanwhile, as a result of analyzing contents of Si and Al as a lineprofile in a cross section of a body of the sample chip cut in the firstand third directions at the center of a body of the sample chip in thesecond direction, with a transmission electron microscope-energydisperse X-ray spectrometer (TEM-EDS), Test Nos. 1 to 6 were measured tohave the highest contents of Si and Al in m2, and Test Nos. 7 to 31 weremeasured to have the highest contents of Si and Al in m. Therefore, itcan be seen that when the content of Si in m is higher than the contentof Si in a and the content of Si in m2, Dm/Da is greater than 0.5 andless than 1.5.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a result of line-profiling the vicinity ofan interface between an active portion and a margin portion for Test No.15 using a TEM-EDS, and FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a result ofline-profiling the vicinity of an interface between an active portionand a margin portion for Test No. 5 using a TEM-EDS. Referring to FIG.6, FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate 7 and 8 illustrate results of analyzing thevicinity of the interface between the active portion and the marginportion at the center of a body of each sample chip the first directionin a cross section of the body of each sample chip cut in the first andthird directions at the center of the body of each sample chip in thesecond direction as line profiles along L1. In FIGS. 7 and 8, a Y-axisis not an absolute value, but is an intensity (arbitrary unit), andmeasured intensities for each element were shifted and illustrated inthe Y-axis direction so as to be easily compared with each other.

In FIG. 7, it can be seen that contents of Si and Al have peak values ina region m, and are higher in the region m than in a region m2. On theother hand, in FIG. 8, it can be seen that contents of Si and Al havepeak values in a region m2, and are lower in a region m than in theregion m2.

Table 2 shows contents of each element in a and m by analyzing FIGS. 7and 8. In Table 2, average contents of each element based on 100 mol ofBaTiO₃ in a or m were shown as the contents of each element.

TABLE 2 Test No. 5* 15 Region a m a m Mg 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.3 Al 1.3 1.4 1.31.8 Si 1.8 1.9 1.8 3.7 Dy 1.3 1.5 1.3 1.8

In Test No. 5, an average content of Si in m is similar to an averagecontent of Si in a. On the other hand, it can be seen that in Test No.15, an average content of Si in m is two times or more higher than anaverage content of Si in a, and the average content of Si in m is 3.7mol based on 100 mol of BaTiO₃.

As set forth above, according to an exemplary embodiment in the presentdisclosure, the reliability of the multilayer electronic component maybe improved by controlling the contents of Si for each position.

In addition, the difference in the size between the dielectric grains ofthe active portion and the side margin portion may be decreased.

While exemplary embodiments have been shown and described above, it willbe apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications andvariations could be made without departing from the scope of the presentinvention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multilayer electronic component comprising: abody including dielectric layers and having first and second surfacesopposing each other in a first direction, third and fourth surfacesconnected to the first and second surfaces and opposing each other in asecond direction, and fifth and sixth surfaces connected to the first tofourth surfaces and opposing each other in a third direction; sidemargin portions disposed on the fifth and sixth surfaces, respectively;and external electrodes disposed on the third and fourth surfaces,respectively, wherein the body includes an active portion includinginternal electrodes disposed alternately with the dielectric layers inthe first direction and cover portions disposed on opposite end surfacesof the active portion in the first direction, respectively, and thedielectric layers and the side margin portions include Si, and anaverage content of Si in m is higher than an average content of Si in aand an average content of Si in m2 in which a is a region from aboundary between the active portion and the side margin portions to aregion spaced apart from the boundary toward the active portion by 3 μm,m is a region from the boundary between the active portion and the sidemargin portions to a region spaced apart from the boundary outwardly ofthe side margin portion by 3 μm, and m2 is a region from m to a regionspaced apart from m outwardly of the side margin portion by 3 μm.
 2. Themultilayer electronic component of claim 1, wherein Dm/Da is greaterthan 0.5 and less than 1.5 in which Da is an average size of dielectricgrains in a and Dm is an average size of dielectric grains in m.
 3. Themultilayer electronic component of claim 2, wherein the dielectriclayers and the side margin portions further include Al, and an averagecontent of Al in m is higher than an average content of Al in a and anaverage content of Al in m2.
 4. The multilayer electronic component ofclaim 3, wherein peak values of a content of Si and a content of Al in mare higher than those of a content of Si and a content of Al in m2. 5.The multilayer electronic component of claim 4, wherein a distancedifference between a point at which the content of Si has peak value inm and a point at which the content of Al has peak value in m is 0.3 μmor less.
 6. The multilayer electronic component of claim 4, wherein theaverage content of Si in m is 2 mol or more and 7 mol or less based on100 mol of BaTiO₃.
 7. The multilayer electronic component of claim 6,wherein the average content of Al in m is 1.5 mol or more and 3 mol orless based on 100 mol of BaTiO₃.
 8. The multilayer electronic componentof claim 7, wherein the dielectric layers and the side margin portionsfurther include one or more of Mg and Dy.
 9. The multilayer electroniccomponent of claim 1, wherein the dielectric layers include a firstmaterial comprising sintered first ceramic green sheets stacked in thefirst direction, and the side margin portions include a second materialcomprising sintered second ceramic green sheets stacked in the thirddirection.
 10. The multilayer electronic component of claim 9, wherein0.4<C1a/C2a<1 and 0.5<C1b/C2b<2 in which C1a and C1b are contents of Siand Al based on 100 mol of BaTiO₃ of the first ceramic green sheets,respectively, and C2a and C2b are contents of Si and Al based on 100 molof BaTiO₃ of the second ceramic green sheets, respectively.
 11. Themultilayer electronic component of claim 1, wherein the externalelectrodes include a first external electrode disposed on the thirdsurface and a second external electrode disposed on the fourth surfaceand the internal electrodes include first internal electrodes in contactwith the first external electrode and second internal electrodes incontact with the second external electrode, and both end portions of thefirst and second internal electrodes in the third direction are incontact with the side margin portions.
 12. A multilayer electroniccomponent comprising: a body including dielectric layers and havingfirst and second surfaces opposing each other in a first direction,third and fourth surfaces connected to the first and second surfaces andopposing each other in a second direction, and fifth and sixth surfacesconnected to the first to fourth surfaces and opposing each other in athird direction; side margin portions disposed on the fifth and sixthsurfaces, respectively; and external electrodes disposed on the thirdand fourth surfaces, respectively, wherein the body includes an activeportion including internal electrodes disposed alternately with thedielectric layers in the first direction and cover portions disposed onopposite end surfaces of the active portion in the first direction,respectively, and Dm/Da is greater than 0.5 and less than 1.5 in which ais a region from a boundary between the active portion and the sidemargin portion to a region spaced apart from the boundary toward theactive portion by 3 μm, Da is an average size of dielectric grains in a,m is a region from the boundary between the active portion and the sidemargin portion to a region spaced apart from the boundary outwardly ofthe side margin portion by 3 μm, and Dm is an average size of dielectricgrains in m.
 13. The multilayer electronic component of claim 12,wherein Dm/Da is in a range from 0.88 to 1.38.
 14. The multilayerelectronic component of claim 12, wherein the dielectric layers and theside margin portions include Si, and an average content of Si in m ishigher than an average content of Si in a and an average content of Siin m2 in which m2 is a region from m to a region spaced apart from moutwardly of the side margin portions by 3 μm.
 15. A multilayerelectronic component, comprising: an active portion having internalelectrodes disposed alternately with dielectric layers interposed therebetween, the internal electrodes and the dielectric layers being stackedin a thickness direction, the dielectric layers comprising aluminum;side margin portions disposed on width-wise opposing surfaces of theactive portion, the side margin portions comprising aluminum; andexternal electrodes disposed on length-wise opposing surfaces of theactive portion, wherein an average content of aluminum in a region ‘m’in the side margin portions spaced apart from a boundary between theactive portion and the side margin portions by a distance of 3 μm isgreater than an average content of aluminum in a region ‘m2’ in the sidemargin portions spaced further apart from the region ‘m’ a distance of 3μm.
 16. The multilayer electronic component of claim 15, wherein thedielectric layers and the side margin portions further include Si, andwherein peak values of a content of Si and a content of Al in m arehigher than those of a content of Si and a content of Al in m2.
 17. Themultilayer electronic component of claim 15, wherein Dm/Da is between0.5 and 1.5, wherein Da is an average size of dielectric grains in aregion ‘a’ in the active portion spaced apart from a boundary betweenthe active portion and the side margin portions by a distance of 3 μm,and Dm is an average size of dielectric grains in the region ‘m’. 18.The multilayer electronic component of claim 15, wherein an averagecontent of Si in the region ‘m’ is higher than an average content of Siin the region ‘m2’ and an average content of Si in a region ‘a’ in theactive portion spaced apart from a boundary between the active portionand the side margin portions by a distance of 3 μm.
 19. The multilayerelectronic component of claim 15, wherein the dielectric layers and theside margin portions further include one or more of Mg and Dy.
 20. Themultilayer electronic component of claim 15, wherein the dielectriclayers include a first material comprising sintered first ceramic greensheets stacked in the thickness direction, the side margin portionsinclude a second material comprising sintered second ceramic greensheets stacked in the width direction, and 0.4<C1a/C2a<1 and0.5<C1b/C2b<2 in which C1a and C1b are contents of Si and Al based on100 mol of BaTiO₃ of the first ceramic green sheets, respectively, andC2a and C2b are contents of Si and Al based on 100 mol of BaTiO₃ of thesecond ceramic green sheets, respectively.